Think you have a handle on trivia surrounding this year’s Academy Award nominated films?

Think again.

The Oscars might not always reward the best films of the year, but they’re a fount of factual minutae, and it’s easy to get lost in statistics and precedents when trying to analyze the bigger picture. As such, I pride myself on crafting, year after year, an extraordinarily difficult trivia quiz.

Usually, much to my guests’ consternation, I provide the attendees of my annual Oscar party with this quiz. Since I’m not hosting one this year, I decided to share it with the world. See how well you can fare; it’s not easy. The answers are at the end of the quiz.

1. Two of the five Best Director nominees have received best picture and best director nominations for each of their last three films. Who are they? For which films were they nominated?

2. Which best original screenplay nominee broke his own record this year for most nominations in that category?

3. How many cast members from the 2006 romantic comedy “Failure to Launch” are nominated for an Academy Award this year?

4. Bruce Dern was nominated for his second Academy Award this year for “Nebraska.” For which film did he receive his first Academy Award nomination?

5. Who is the only nominee for best actress who has not previously won an Academy Award?

6. Two filmmakers are nominated this year for three Academy Awards each. Which two? (Hint: They are both directors of a best picture-nominated film.)

7. Walt Disney Animation Studios is nominated for best animated film for “Frozen” this year. Disregarding its releases with Pixar Animation Studios, how many times has Disney won this award on its own?

8. How many of the nine best picture nominees are based on a true story?

9. Of the nominees based on a true story, how many are based on a non-fiction book?

10. Which of the nominees for best makeup and hairstyling earned that nomination on a makeup budget of only $250 (and that’s not a typo)?

11. Which Oscar-nominated actor provides the voice of Mission Control in “Gravity?”

12. How many Oscar-nominated films this year feature, in one way or another, rising British actor Benedict Cumberbatch?

13. What family connection links two important creative forces behind “Dallas Buyers Club” and “The Wolf of Wall Street?”

14. “Philomena” marks the seventh Oscar nomination for beloved actress Judi Dench, but she didn’t receive her first until 1997 for which performance?

15. What profession did Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi have before he won the role of Muse in “Captain Phillips?”

16. Nominee “The Wind Rises” is reportedly the final film from Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, who previously won the award for best animated feature for which film?

17. The Academy does not historically tend to reward rock musicians for original scores, but this year, Win Butler and Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire are nominated for their original score in “Her.” But if they win, it wouldn’t be the first such award in recent years. Which rocker took home an Oscar in this category in 2010?

18. Which nominee would complete the fabled EGOT – having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – if he wins in his nominated category this year?

19. Oscar nominee Paul Hewson is better recognized by what professional name?

20. To give the vision of a futuristic Los Angeles a more unusual look, best picture nominee “Her” was partially shot in which city?

12. Four; he features prominently in best picture nominee “12 Years a Slave,” plays the villain in best visual effects nominee “Star Trek Into Darkness,” is a member of the ensemble in best actress and best supporting actress nominee “August: Osage County,” and memorably provides the voice of Smaug in “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”

About This Blog

Think you have a handle on trivia surrounding this year’s Academy Award nominated films?

Think again.

The Oscars might not always reward the best films of the year, but they’re a fount of factual minutae, and it’s easy to get lost in statistics and precedents when trying to analyze the bigger picture. As such, I pride myself on crafting, year after year, an extraordinarily difficult trivia quiz.

Usually, much to my guests’ consternation, I provide the attendees of my annual Oscar party with this quiz. Since I’m not hosting one this year, I decided to share it with the world. See how well you can fare; it’s not easy. The answers are at the end of the quiz.

1. Two of the five Best Director nominees have received best picture and best director nominations for each of their last three films. Who are they? For which films were they nominated?

2. Which best original screenplay nominee broke his own record this year for most nominations in that category?

3. How many cast members from the 2006 romantic comedy “Failure to Launch” are nominated for an Academy Award this year?

4. Bruce Dern was nominated for his second Academy Award this year for “Nebraska.” For which film did he receive his first Academy Award nomination?

5. Who is the only nominee for best actress who has not previously won an Academy Award?

6. Two filmmakers are nominated this year for three Academy Awards each. Which two? (Hint: They are both directors of a best picture-nominated film.)

7. Walt Disney Animation Studios is nominated for best animated film for “Frozen” this year. Disregarding its releases with Pixar Animation Studios, how many times has Disney won this award on its own?

8. How many of the nine best picture nominees are based on a true story?

9. Of the nominees based on a true story, how many are based on a non-fiction book?

10. Which of the nominees for best makeup and hairstyling earned that nomination on a makeup budget of only $250 (and that’s not a typo)?

11. Which Oscar-nominated actor provides the voice of Mission Control in “Gravity?”

12. How many Oscar-nominated films this year feature, in one way or another, rising British actor Benedict Cumberbatch?

13. What family connection links two important creative forces behind “Dallas Buyers Club” and “The Wolf of Wall Street?”

14. “Philomena” marks the seventh Oscar nomination for beloved actress Judi Dench, but she didn’t receive her first until 1997 for which performance?

15. What profession did Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi have before he won the role of Muse in “Captain Phillips?”

16. Nominee “The Wind Rises” is reportedly the final film from Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, who previously won the award for best animated feature for which film?

17. The Academy does not historically tend to reward rock musicians for original scores, but this year, Win Butler and Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire are nominated for their original score in “Her.” But if they win, it wouldn’t be the first such award in recent years. Which rocker took home an Oscar in this category in 2010?

18. Which nominee would complete the fabled EGOT – having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – if he wins in his nominated category this year?

19. Oscar nominee Paul Hewson is better recognized by what professional name?

20. To give the vision of a futuristic Los Angeles a more unusual look, best picture nominee “Her” was partially shot in which city?

12. Four; he features prominently in best picture nominee “12 Years a Slave,” plays the villain in best visual effects nominee “Star Trek Into Darkness,” is a member of the ensemble in best actress and best supporting actress nominee “August: Osage County,” and memorably provides the voice of Smaug in “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”